Yes, you are right Hummingbird won't be a hybrid... I was looking at it as "the last resort" type of camper we might consider/try given the hitch weight etc. It'll be tight for us V.S. EZ Escape, for example.

We're a family of 6 with 4 kids (all on the younger side) so we need some good sleeping capacity (at least "sleeps 5"). Amenities & all camper bells & whistles are secondary for us. We've done a lot of dry camping - if almost not exclusively. The camping grounds we go to usually have all the amenities anyway.

We like our pop-up but setting it up and taking it down is really time consuming and is kind of a pain every time we go camping. And when you need to load a pop-up camper before the trip you still need to open it up and close it down, etc. It's a lot of work and time (while 4 munchkins are impatient and running around and waiting etc).

I'd like to be able to have a camper that I could set up by myself (well, at least most of it ha) and fairly quickly*
*without giving up our wagon...

 

phew, 4 kids jammed into a 16 foot floor camper on a rainy day, I wouldn't wish that on anyone. We camp 2-up in a trailer with a ~ 19 foot floor, queen bed, etc comfortably. Our kids are late 20s and early 30s and have their own camping setups, in fact one is in the UK, and the other is in New Orleans, so we don't see them very often right now.

 

Everybody is having different comfort zones.
On Sprinter forum I see conversions that sleep family of 7 and not always on the long version of the van.
Still, why don't you consider selling the wagon and buying ML class? You are trying to stretch something, when easy option lays next to it.

 

ML (1997-2014) -> GLE (2015+), the W163, w164, and w166 were part Chrysler designs, meh. we test drove a GLE350 and didn't care for it at all..

 

I have 2016 GLE300 Bluetec and love it.
Especially 30 mpg engine, who is the same I have in E although couple years of difference added 5 hp to the tune.
GLE and ML are the same bodies for the years, just different trims.

 

huh, we're getting 23-24 MPG on our '16 E350 4m on highway trips. around town it is more like 16-18 MPG

 

That's what you get for driving gas guzzler
'Love" is a bit of overstatement in my previous post.
This is the GLE, when it got snowed in in December at my cabin.



This is the picture taken about 10 days ago. GLE is about 10 ft to the right from the CanAm

 

oooh, you said gle300 bluetec, I didn't catch the diesel part.

 

Alright.

• Picking up my car with Stealth Hitch Class 2 installed, 7 pin and RedArc brake controller installed in a few minutes! (Cost me "a fortune" for the upgrade and I hope it's going to be worth it).
• I also called Stealth Hitch customer service today and spoke seemed-to-be very knowledgable customer service rep (who's towed in his time) - he talked in lengths about the proper trailer loading (in front of the axel, 60% rule, etc) and other requirements for safe towing. Now specifically he said that Stealth Hitches do not support WD or sway control bars because these are not meant to be used with unibody vehicles, and they can't be towed with receivers only with the ball mount Stealth Hitch provides. I talked to him towing 3500lb gross and he seem very confident that my car and the hitch would be able to handle it as long as I load it properly, watch the weight (trailer and tongue), and don't go fast (~65mph sounds like the sweet spot), and check the ball mount/connections at "every" stop and after every trip. He said if something is off the hitch won't suddenly fail at once but it might be gradual and should watch for any signs of hitch not being able to handle the load by checking it frequently.
• And.......drum roll please... I found a person who is fine to rent his 2021 kz sportsmen classic 160rbt to me with Class 2 hitch! Specs: 2800lb dry, hitch weight 300 lbs, gross weight 3500lbs....and the owner told me that he actually towed this camper with Ford Escape until he traded it in (he does have built in WD/sway bars, which I won't be able to use and I'm okay with it).
  

My dream to tow a hybrid camper with my wagon isn't dead yet...The journey continues!

 

Picking up a hybrid camper tomorrow to do a "dry run" without a family. I rented it for the minimum available (2 nights). I discussed with the owner what I'll be doing and that I won't be going camping but only doing a dry run to see how I'm going to handle towing and that I'll be returning the camper right after the dry run back to him. He is okay with it.

The pickup/drop-off is about 90 miles from Chicago so my plan is to do a round trip on the highway.

 

I would advise you to fill water tank to the level you expect to use in real life.
It might be surprise how how little it takes to change vehicle stabilization.
In my Truck Camper - 15 gallons of gray water was creating purposing.
You'd think that 15 gallons = 120 lb of water on 7 tons rig should be marginal, but holding tank was 9' behind rear axle.

 

Towing now - stuck in traffic - posting pics for now

so far so good..will share more later.

thinking of getting a scangauge? for more assurance that the car is handling it okay. Not sure if it works with Mercedes…

 

Looking good, although I am pretty sure you will raise some browns when driving it.
USA is quite different in this aspect, than Europe.
I am using ScanGauges to monitor my diesels and SG3 is really nice tool. I just find I can monitor Torque Converter Slip on my W212 with it, beside stuff like transmission and motor oil temperatures.
You should twist those chains a bit to avoid dragging.

 

Thanks. So would you recommend getting SG3?

I think the car handled it fine - towed for 200 miles (~100 miles each way). I listened to the engine (for what it’s worth) and watched rpm and settled on cruise control on a low traffic highway at 65mph that stayed steady at 2000rpm and the cruise control set itself in the 6th gear. Consumption changed to 15mpg (ouch) when towing from the typical 25-30mpg without towing on the highway. That's all could "monitor" at the time. Not sure if any of this helps determining if the car handled it okay or not...Any thoughts?

I "experimented" going 70 mph when towing and the engine would start sounding rougher as if it's "under pressure w/the gas penal on at all times". The gear would switch to 5th at 70mph as well. So I settled on 65mph as the sweet spot.

 

Scan Gauge cost a lot for what it is, but you can recoup the cost very fast by avoiding single dealer visit, or towing.
Pulling is never a problem and MB usually have good cooling system for that. The best sample is the 22 HP Fiat above pulling huge trailers.
It is braking and handling what is main concern.
You will find that with big trailer (frontal area) different speed will change fuel consumption quite a bit.
When I had huge Truck Camper, I was driving the truck at 60 mph for fuel consumption, when 440HP could give me much more.
Enjoy new toy.